Chapter 38: Two Faces (2)

Hit directly by the 「Vicious Mockery」 I threw after taking off my mask, 「Marin」 clutched his head in agony.

Because he had seen my face clearly, the hit landed as a definite critical while he was in a ‘charmed’ state, but.

“Ugh…!”

He only staggered for a moment and did not fall.

“…You son of a bitch!”

Then, he finally threw off his mask as well and got into a stance.

In that time, Ibi had already run behind him.

「Backstab」.

The flashing tip of her blade aimed and stabbed at the back of 「Marin」's neck.

Shwik!

Simultaneously, 「Marin」 twisted his body, and the dagger ended up striking the armor instead of his neck and bouncing off.

Ibi didn't stop and tried to continue her attack, but 「Marin」 was a little faster.

“Uk!?”

Thwack!

With a dull thud, Ibi was kicked and sent flying.

Then, 「Marin」 immediately kicked off the ground and rushed forward.

“I'll kill you as you wished!”

Towards me.

His expression was one of extreme rage, yet the eyes that glared at me were tinged with a faint pink.

The damage from the critical hit 「Vicious Mockery」 was one thing, but more importantly, since he was in a ‘charmed’ state, it seemed he could only see me.

『This way!』

At that moment, Miki, who had run out, blocked his path with a 「Taunt」.

──Kaaang!!

Steel resonated.

The sword that had been swung at me was blocked by Miki's shield.

“You damn brat!”

But 「Marin」's eyes were still glaring at me.

“Get out of my way and get lost!”

As he acted as if Miki was not even in his sight, he put more strength into the clashing sword.

It was as if he intended to cut through the shield and all.

“Ugh…!”

Unlike when he was dealing with the statues, Miki, struggling with the force, began to be pushed back.

『Kneel!』

“──!”

At that, I quickly shouted a 「Word Command」.

Hearing this, 「Marin」, who had knelt on his own accord, had a very bewildered expression.

But that was short-lived, and.

“You, damn entertainer bastard…!”

He struggled to raise one knee again.

He was clearly ‘resisting’.

It was because of the fundamental level difference, and also because, as a boss, his resistance was much higher than that of normal enemies.

Therefore, complete suppression was impossible against him, and only a brief stalling was possible.

『Blaze!』

For now, that brief moment was enough.

Hwareureuk!

Rine's 「Fireball」 hit 「Marin」 directly as he was trying to stand up.

“Keuk…!”

To be precise, he barely managed to block it by raising his arm.

But similarly, it didn't deal much damage.

Looking at him grit his teeth as he brushed off the remaining embers, it seemed to have only enraged him further.

However, the fact that he had faltered like that meant.

“That hurts, you bastard!”

That Ibi, who had been pushed back, could rush in again.

Ssaek!

Ibi's dagger, which drew a line like an afterimage, slashed 「Marin」's cheek as he hastily turned, and red droplets of blood scattered.

「Marin」 immediately reacted by swinging his sword, but this time, Ibi was faster.

「Hit and Run」.

Ibi, who had distanced herself at the same time as she attacked, easily dodged the sword strike.

“You rat-like thing!”

「Marin」 immediately closed the distance, as if not to lose her, but.

Hwook!

His sword cut through the air again.

Then, the thick smoke, a sign of 「Swift Escape」, naturally obscured 「Marin」's vision.

“Where did you learn such petty tricks…!”

At that, 「Marin」 gritted his teeth and swung the sword in his hand with all his might again.

──Hwook!

A gale-like sword aura swept away the thick smoke.

The moment 「Marin」's obscured vision cleared again.

“Haaap──!”

Miki rushed towards him.

Kuung!

A dull impact sound echoed.

It was the sound made as he blocked Miki's 「Shield Bash」 by raising his foot.

To be precise, by kicking it.

And he didn't even stop there, and with that momentum, he pushed Miki and his shield away.

A blue light suddenly began to glow from 「Marin」's sword.

Just like Miki's shield had done, it was clad in the power of water.

「Water Sword」.

It was a technique that was like a trademark of the Stout knights.

Especially in the case of high-ranking knights, it was said that they could not just add water-attribute damage to their attacks, but could also create a large wave with a single swing of their sword.

『Did you collect the tears of your copied parents or something!』

Of course, since that guy wasn't the real Marin, he couldn't produce that kind of power.

“Keuak…!”

「Marin」, who had received a mental shock, once again clutched his head and showed a pained expression.

However, that wasn't all.

His reaction was somehow strange, more than just from taking heavy damage.

In fact, Ibi and Miki, who had been about to deliver a follow-up attack, flinched and stopped, unable to approach him any further.

Even though he hadn't heard a 「Word Command」, he had knelt on his own and begun to suffer, and suddenly, a fire began to rise around him.

And soon after──

“──What”

He began to change.

“What is that…?!”

In fact, if you were to describe it just by what was visible, he was melting.

Unable to maintain his current form, that is, Marin's form, he began to collapse, and his true form as a ‘shapeshifter’ began to be revealed.

“Uaaaargh──!!”

In the middle of the flames that surrounded him.

And soon after, he was half Marin, and half…

“……Crazy.”

He had regained his true form.

Like the shapeshifters of this world, a ‘fluid’ form close to a slime, that could easily change into any shape.

But now, since he was trying to maintain a human form to some extent, he also looked like a melted lump of flesh.

“You, son, of, a, bitch──”

It was the moment 「Marin」 became 「Marin(?)」.

In other words, from now on, it was phase 2.

In his right hand, where Marin's form was still maintained, he was still holding the 「Water Sword」.

On the other hand, in his left hand, where his true form was revealed, a fire was rising.

A black one, the same as the flames that had surrounded him just now.

“Teacher Yubin's words… were right….”

So, if they had been fighting while trusting me, but still hadn't completely abandoned the possibility that he might be the real Marin, from this moment on, they would have completely abandoned it.

“Th-That bastard…”

That fire was not a fire that Marin could create.

“He really was a devil!?”

Because for humans, it was a symbol of ‘devils’── 「Hellfire」.

And, the movement of that fire was unusual.

“Ibi! Miki! Fall back!”

“──!”

──Hwareureureuk!

With a single gesture of his hand, the flames that surrounded him and the fire that had been on his left hand became one.

A giant conflagration that rushed to engulf us.

“Die!”

It was time to use the trident.

Among the four of us, there was practically no one who could properly use this trident.

Because no one was proficient in this kind of polearm weapon.

However, that was only if we were to use this trident as a weapon.

Even someone who was not good at handling polearms could use the trident's ability, that is, its skill.

“Behind me!”

Even me.

『Swallow my enemies──』

As the three of them hastily ran behind me, I slammed the tip of the trident onto the ground with all my might.

『──Tidal wave!』

At that moment.

Chwaaak──!!

A high wave worthy of the name 「Ocean's Wrath」 struck the cliff.

“Whaat──”

Cheolseok!

The ground shook, and a spray of water rushed in.

And as it did, it naturally engulfed the fierce conflagration that had been trying to engulf us.

After the spray of water had swept over the cliff once, what remained were five people who looked like drowned rats.

Meaning all of them were thoroughly ‘wet’.

Of the engulfed 「Hellfire」, only a small flame on his left hand remained.

On the other hand, the 「Water Sword」 was shining much more clearly than before.

It had been ‘overcharged’.

As soon as he realized that fact, he immediately raised his right hand.

At the same time, I also raised my right hand.

『Kneel!』

The moment I swept back my wet, drooping bangs with my hand, the eyes of 「Marin(?)」 that I met again were tinged with the light of charm.

As a result, he knelt again, and.

“「Frost Blade」!”

As if she had already read my mind, Rine cast 「Frost Blade」 almost at the same time as she shouted.

Ssaek!

「Marin(?)」, while on his knees, quickly swung his sword to deflect the sharp ice shards that flew through the air.

At that.

“…!”

As the shards shattered and burst, the scattered cold air instantly froze the sword filled with the power of water and the thoroughly ‘wet’ hand that held it.

He had been ‘frozen’.

“Damn it…!”

「Marin(?)」, who was flustered by the sudden sealing of one hand, hastily tried to reignite the 「Hellfire」, but it wasn't just his sword that had been charged by the spray of water.

“Miki!”

「Wave of Protection」 swept in, once again suppressing the 「Hellfire」 that had not yet fully ignited.

However, it could not extinguish it.

Because it was a fire that could be weakened by water, but could not be completely extinguished.

There was only one way to extinguish that fire.

“Rine.”

The caster's consciousness had to be cut.

“I'll give you the signal. Hit him with 「Lightning Bolt」 with all your remaining circles.”

Rine, who nodded her head without a word, immediately raised her staff and tapped the ground, and a magic circle appeared on the ground.

Meanwhile, Miki swung the shield that had finished its discharge with all his might.

Thwack!

With a dull thud, 「Marin(?)」's head was knocked to the side.

Miki followed up with a punch.

Kang!

This time, it was blocked.

As soon as I heard the sound of the ice lump on his right hand, which had blocked the punch, cracking.

Thwack!

Another dull thud echoed.

“Ugh!”

This time, it was Miki's head that was knocked to the side.

Using the ice lump covering his hand as a weapon, he had struck Miki, who had not had time to raise his shield.

“Boy!”

Miki, whose feet had left the ground, was thrown to the ground as if he had been sent flying.

Then, as if the 「Word Command」 had been broken, 「Marin(?)」 kicked off the ground and stood up, and then.

“Die, you mongrel bastard!”

“Why don't you look in a mirror before you talk!?”

He threw 「Hellfire」 at the rushing Ibi.

Hwareureuk!

Ibi barely managed to dodge it by rolling forward, but what was waiting for her was 「Marin(?)」, who had already raised one foot high.

“Die.”

But Ibi's head was not stomped on.

『You should at least pretend to be a mongrel, you pure-blooded liquid monster bastard!』

“Aargh!”

While he was in agony, Ibi quickly got up and stabbed with her dagger held in a reverse grip.

Puk!

“Ugh!?”

This time, it didn't bounce off the armor, but properly dug into his neck.

Tuk, tuk, tuk.

From his trembling neck, beads of blood dripped.

Not red, but the same color as his melted left side.

Ibi, who was momentarily stunned by the sight, quickly snapped out of it and tried to stab with the dagger in her other hand, but.

“Keok!”

That brief moment was the problem.

「Marin(?)」 did not miss that brief opening and raised his knee, then grabbed the hair of Ibi, whose head had naturally bent down, and struck her with the ice lump.

Hududuk, red blood dripped.

Then, 「Marin(?)」 threw the staggering Ibi away, and.

“I'll pull out your tongue!”

He began to rush towards me.

Glaring at me with one eye tinged with a faint pink.

A few more steps.

In those few steps, he would be close enough to gouge out my face with his bare hands.

The difference, whether I ran or not, would be just one step.

So.

“──!?”

I closed the distance myself.

He seemed quite surprised that I, who had been keeping my distance and only shouting 「Vicious Mockery」 and 「Word Command」, had suddenly approached.

Looking at his wide-open eye.

『Kneel.』

First, I made him kneel.

As expected, he immediately resisted, and with his left hand, which was still burning, trembling, he slowly began to reach for me.

I looked down at him, then also reached out to him.

Placing both hands on his shoulders.

『The Die is Cast.』

To press down firmly.

At that, the flustered 「Marin(?)」 somehow tried to resist my previous 「Word Command」 and get up, but.

“……?!”

Unlike just now, when he had at least resisted, he couldn't move at all.

Of course, my weapons weren't just 「Vicious Mockery」 and 「Word Command」.

There was also 「Moment of the Star」, which fixed the result of any action to a ‘great success’.

In short, even with this weak body, no matter if the strength difference was five times, ten times, or a hundred times.

“What, new trick is this…!?”

For a moment (one turn), it was perfectly possible to press him down so that he couldn't move at all.

「Marin(?)」 had been hit by 「Vicious Mockery」 three times.

And his health had been consistently chipped away by Ibi and Miki.

In other words.

“Your play is over, shapeshifter.”

If I hit him with a 「Lightning Bolt」, which deals double damage in a ‘wet’ state, with all my remaining circles, the battle would end.

Because his HP would become 0.

“Uaaargh──!!”

“Shut up.”

But 「Moment of the Star」 doesn't last forever.

After the promised short time, I felt the ‘power of fate’ that had been holding him in place slowly fade from my hands.

However, 「Marin(?)」 still couldn't move an inch from his spot.

『──Kneel.』

Because as the turn passed, I had whispered the 「Word Command」, whose cooldown was over, into his ear again.

No matter how high his resistance was and how early it broke, he would be unable to move for at least one turn.

During that time, it was enough time for Rine to finish her 「Delayed Casting」.

“Still, it was a fine performance.”

And for me to step back and create distance.

“But now it’s time for the curtains to fall.”

Along with a theatrical farewell gesture.

Then, my finger.

“You, son of a b──”

Snapping, when I did.

『──Strike down!』

A flash of light.

And a thunderous applause followed.